6 ms·
> An analysis published in 2020 by the Transport Research Laboratory, a British organisation, found that touchscreens impaired a driver’s reaction time more tha
by crazygringo 1y ago
> An analysis published in 2020 by the Transport Research Laboratory, a British organisation, found that touchscreens impaired a driver’s reaction time more than driving over the legal alcohol limit.
The question isn't whether they're dangerous, anymore.
The question is, when is safety legislation going to be passed that prevents them from being used for any routine adjustments while driving. I.e. windshield wipers, AC, change volume, skip to next track, etc.
Like it's fine if you still use them to input a GPS destination, change long-term car settings, connect a Bluetooth device, etc.
But we need to separate out the actions routinely used during driving and legislate physical controls. Why is there not legislation for this already?
- JustExAWS 1y agoThe cars I have had don’t let you change BT settings or many other settings and Apple Maps at least doesn’t let you type in an address while you’re driving from the display I don’t think. I’ve done it from my phone as a passenger.
- LoganDark 1y agoIt's an Apple thing to limit keyboard access when the car is moving. Android Auto doesn't have it.
- thanhhaimai 1y agoAndroid Auto also doesn't let you type while driving. Source: I was the one who wrote the system UI and Keyboard integration. It's still there last time I checked.
- niij 1y agoWhat was the discussion like around passengers controlling the UI?
- JustExAWS 1y agoPassengers can just grab the phone and do whatever they want.
- eloisant 1y agoWhich is something the driver can do too, which is why this stupid restriction is making the system less safe.
- JustExAWS 1y agoIf they do, it’s not on Apple or the car manufacturer for making it unsafe. There are a laws all over the world about having an infotainment system and distractions.
- gambiting 1y agoExcept apps like Waze will show you "this app is being controlled by Android Auto" and won't let you do anything on the phone's screen, you have to use the Android Auto display to interact with it.
- serial_dev 1y agoI don’t think it’s universal, I have a car from 2023 and both Android Auto and Apple integration let me change the maps destination.
- stouset 1y agoYou can’t type on the keyboard though. You can push large buttons to look for and choose gas stations, restaurants, etc.
- gambiting 1y agoI literally just used android auto, while driving, to type in an address in Waze using the on screen keyboard(well, my wife was driving). Stock android on a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
- RandomBacon 1y agoThere's a bug. I don't know how to replicate it, but a week ago the keyboard popped up while I was in (slow) motion (I was trying to select a previous saved destination) and I tapped on a random key to see if it worked, and it did. This was the only time in 5 years of me using Android Auto that it happened.
- HPsquared 1y agoVoice controls are much better for that kind of thing anyway. I expect they'll continue to improve.
- Saline9515 1y agoThe problem is that they imply that the car listens to all of your communications at all time, which many users would find creepy.
- Uvix 1y agoMy last two cars had button-triggered voice controls, which solves that concern.
- Insanity 1y agoYup, this is how I use my voice control in the car. It’s on the steering wheel.
- Terr_ 1y agoIMO physical-world safety measures are underused. Not just because they provide pretty hard barriers to certain attacks, but also because they often exist in a world the human user can notice and verify. For example, I would prefer to press a fob-button to unlock or start a car, but there are systems out there where thieves simply boost/relay the signal of your keys in order to open and and drive it away. Sure, there are countermeasures involving complicated speed-of-light timing tricks, but it could have all been avoided with a button.
- sebastiennight 1y agoIt solves that concern if the trigger is built in hardware, not if it's software-driven.
- Uvix 1y agoMost people already have a phone with a software-controlled microphone in their pocket; that’s generally considered good enough. For someone who really wants that level of hardware control, they’re probably better served by an older car with less or no computers.
- bongodongobob 1y agoThe Bluetooth thing infuriates me. If the connection fails on my way to work, I have to fucking pull over and park to reconnect my phone. It's literally just pushing the Bluetooth button on my dash. But oh no, that is not available when in motion. Navigate through multiple screens to adjust anything else? Totally fine.
- JustExAWS 1y agoI use CarPlay and plug in my phone. I don’t have to worry about BT. My ancient old 2011 Sonic supported the iPod protocol. That meant I could plug my phone into the USB port for audio, on screen display of what was playing and I believe it could control it.
- anonymars 1y agoAnd passengers don't exist and would never like to play music or navigate from the passenger seat! Gives me road rage every time.
- JustExAWS 1y agoThe passenger can grab the phone that is connected via BT, CarPlay or Android Auto. In the case of CarPlay, someone in the backseat can connect to the phone that is using CarPlay by using Shareplay and control the music.
- bongodongobob 1y agoNot on my 2015 Subaru it can't.
- JustExAWS 1y agoA passenger can’t use your phone connected with BT and control the audio? But it looks like the USB port in that model year Subaru supports the iPod protocol meaning if you have an iPhone, why wouldn’t the passenger be able to control the music? If you have an Android it looks like it supports just using your phone as a dumb mass storage device that contains music.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- lazystar 1y ago> Why is there not legislation for this already? Cars that dont kill their drivers are more likely to have repeat customers; i.e. other factors besides legislation will force car manufacterers to shift their designs back to this approach. My 2024 CRV has exactly what you describe.
- mort96 1y agoThe fraction of car owners who die every year is relatively tiny. The fraction of car owners who die due to their own mistakes, where those mistakes were caused by the car, is even smaller. It's a segment of the market that is safe to ignore, financially speaking.
- Ajedi32 1y agoDoes having touchscreen controls affect insurance premiums? ~100% of the market buys insurance. (Well, I guess unfortunately that's a bit optimistic. 100% of the "operating legally" market anyway...)
- RobinL 1y agoIf that were the case they'd be no need for seatbelt laws
- derriz 1y agoThe other factors being that enough people get killed so that a shrinking market share forces their management decide to change their car designs? I have a libertarian streak when it comes to drugs, porn/prostitution, free speech, patent law, etc. but in this case I’m perfectly fine with governments “getting involved” to ensure that I can shop for a vehicle without becoming a random sample in a statistical study of car safety. Especially if a possible outcome is my preventable death.
- NeotokyoFan 1y agoSurvivorship bias, information asymmetry and product design is at play here. 100% rational and 100% informed consumers do not exist. There's both information asymmetry between manufacturers and consumers. I'm sure there's man fatal accidents that can be traced back to faulty components and improper design that gets covered up by manufacturers. The Volkswagen emissions scandal was just easily measurable. Everyone likes it that way. Consumers are attracted to features, gimmicks and marketing because that's what works for marketing and sells. No one wants to buy a "900% less accidents than others" car. But everyone wants a bluetooth and wifi enabled car with seat subscriptions. Besides, what's a rational consumer gotta do? They gotta get up at 06:30 and make breakfast for little Timmy and take him to daycare. They need a new car by the end of the month so they better choose between big touch screen or little touch screen with a control knob. If I can't get a dumb TV, I just don't buy a dumb TV or watch any TV at all. But you can't not travel by car.
- cramcgrab 1y ago[flagged]
- zeta0134 1y agoIt's becoming increasingly more difficult to find cars that don't pull this nonsense, as removing physical controls (in favor of a fiddly awful touch OS) is a cost saving measure during manufacturing. ... also, whether I purchase it or not makes little difference if I am the pedestrian killed by some other driver who was sold an unsafe vehicle.
- serial_dev 1y agoFunny enough, two years ago I bought a Dacia because they still had physical buttons for everything like it 2005. It blew my mind when I was in my friends Tesla the things that can be only controlled by touch screen.
- crazygringo 1y agoYou know, seatbelts were also once optional, and something like less than 10% of people got them with their cars. When it comes to safety regulations, it's definitely not "if you don't like it don't buy it". Also, if you're distracted and get in a crash, you're not the only one who dies. It's your passengers and the people in the car you collide with that might die as well.
- II2II 1y ago> It's your passengers and the people in the car you collide with that might die as well. The people within automobiles are the people who I am least concerned about since they are encased by a machine that is engineered to ensure their safety. It's people outside of vehicles I'm most concerned about. Their only protection is their own wits.
- necovek 1y agoYour fear seems to be unfounded if we can extrapolate data for Turkey: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Comparison-of-drivers-passengers-and-pedestrians-according-to-gender_tbl2_336390672 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Comparison-of-drivers-pa... 15k drivers and passengers dead for 3k pedestrians; 1.3M injured drivers/passengers for 170k pedestrians. The only figure that supports your fear is that out of all injuries, 1.8% pedestrians die, whereas it's "only" 1.2% for those "encased in a machine". But absolute numbers tell a different, more important story: ratio of deaths is 1:5, and 1:7.5 for injuries (meaning, they much less likely to be in a traffic accident).
- oneeyedpigeon 1y ago> The question is, when is safety legislation going to be passed that prevents them from being used for any routine adjustments while driving. We already have this exact legislation in the UK.
- quietbritishjim 1y agoReally? All new cars seem to have heating controls on a touchscreen. Are you sure you aren't thinking of something else, like the regulations against the use of mobile phones while driving? (Even that is allowed so long as it's on a mount.)
- youngtaff 1y agoI’m in the UK and my touch screen doesn’t work above 5mph
- YZF 1y agoWhat about Teslas? I know they're in the UK because I saw them there and they have many controls on the touch screen and almost no physical controls. How does that work?
- shawabawa3 1y agoWhat car? I've driven like 5 modern rental cars in the last year and none of them locked out the touch screen while driving, and most needed the touch screen to change the temperature controls
- subscribed 1y agoDoes that mean that you have to park, say, Polestar o the motorway to change the temperature in the AC?
- magicalhippo 1y agoMy Renault Megane e-Tech has physical controls for just about everything needed, but regardless it also has a voice interface, so I can tell it to adjust the AC or turn off the seat heater etc without taking my eyes off the road. Physical controls were a must when getting a new car, but I find myself using voice a lot, especially in traffic.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- nothrabannosir 1y agoI would support legislation which disables the touch screen when the passenger seat is unoccupied and the vehicle is in motion. But I admit I’m being selfish: I don’t drive but share the road with people who do.
- mjevans 1y agoI would not. I would support legislation that forced a recall of all defective cars (ones that required touchscreens to do basic car things).
- LorenPechtel 1y agoYeah, the passenger seat is a problem. I've been very annoyed with my phone before for locking out when my car is in motion--even when I'm not the one handling the phone.
- what 1y agoWhat phone doesn’t let you operate it while in a moving car? I’ve never heard of this.
- ghostpepper 1y agoModern mazdas are one example - the touchscreen locks out above 5 miles per hour. This is only feasible because the physical controls are excellent, and you can basically accomplish anything except typing an address or a song name without the touchscreen as input.
- gedy 1y agoI have a new Mazda with CarPlay, you can touch the phone at any time? Or are you referring to the "extra" touchscreen on some models in addition to the control knob.
- decafninja 1y agoThe newest CX-5, their best selling car, abandons the knob, if that’s what you’re referring to. Supposedly most buyers in fact, did not like the knob. This seems to follow other manufacturers that formerly had knob based controls but similarly abandoned them.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- yieldcrv 1y ago> An analysis published in 2020 by the Transport Research Laboratory, a British organisation, found that touchscreens impaired a driver’s reaction time more than driving over the legal alcohol limit. in that case, maybe I actually am a good drunk driver, if I ever did that
- hedora 1y agoI would support legislation that requires routine controls to be safety tested, and further requires all functionality to behave the same regardless of vehicle velocity or whether it is in gear. There could be a narrow carve out for the manual, and stuff like software updates that make the console reboot. If you attempt to adjust the bass and treble on our kia when it is in gear, the fucking sliders are not only broken, but they randomly move around on the screen like a “I bet you can’t dismiss this dialogue” prank app. On old bmws, you can set gps destinations using the jog wheel while the car is in motion. On the new ones, that’s disabled, the voice control reads off legal disclaimers and aggressively times out, making you restart the flow if you dare pay attention to the road while driving. On top of that the (enshittified) jog wheel is erratic if the car is in motion. How does this stuff pass safety tests?
- idkfasayer 1y ago[dead]